The Sick Rose is a truly layered poem. I think every person I discussed it had a different interpretation of its meaning. Hannah thought it was associating with cancer, I thought it was relating to rape, several people found it to be exploring lighter topics like a tragic romance.
The two main personified characters in the short two-stanza poem are the namesake sick rose and the invisible worm. The invisible worm is a perfect metaphor for a veiled and undetected diseases so ten points to Hannah for that one š The invisible worm is also what makes me think that is this poem truly does talk about sex, its not consensual because it seems to suggest that the worm was something the rose didnāt see coming.
The roseās bed (thatās a pretty apt pun because if the rose is in a garden, itās probably residing in a flower bed, by the way) is described to be āof crimson joyā. Now that may just be a commentary on the colour of the rose and joy may be meant sincerely as to describe the state of the rose before she (yes, Iām feminising the rose) was infected. However, because Iām a depressing person, I chose to see it as an analogy for the bloodshed of the virgin, the word ājoyā being sardonically ironic as sex is meant to be consensual and enjoyable not symbolic of the stealing of someoneās basic rights.
The last two lines of the poem seem in accordance to this ready as the ādark secret loveā of the worm ends up destroying the life of the rose. Dark secret is a good word choice as the consonance adds to the emphasis on the words but whatās even more intriguing is calling an act of rape, if that is indeed what the poem is talking about, āloveā. One might argue that Blake did call it dark so perhaps he means a twisted version of love, but can such an act of raw lust be any kind of love? I guess it depends on which philosopher or psychologist youāre referring to. Anyway, did anyone have an alternate reading of the poem?
claudia yuen
November 14, 2016 — 6:06 pm
Hey Shivz!
Yeah I agree with you about how the sick rose is a very layered, yet enigmatic poem! Not only could this be taken literally, but I suppose metaphorically. The dark secret love that originates from worm is destroying the rose’s life. I guess it makes sense to see this illness the worm is carrying could be cancer or some sort of infection, but I always perceived as rape or some unwanted/predatory ‘romance’. Can you even call it a romance? I don’t know…I guess with the words ‘crimson joy’, it could just mean sexual pleasure. With that being said, there’s a huge theme of perversion coming from the worm, and shame coming from the rose. Perhaps this shame comes from the secrecy attached to this affair.
What I want to point out in ‘The Sick Rose’ is the rhyme scheme. It’s ABCB. This would provide the poem with a dark and ominous tone. It definitely accentuates the ambience of something is bound to go wrong, it’s almost as if the reader can sense this dread or unwillingness from the protagonist to comply to whatever the antagonist wants it to do.
What I also find interesting is the pairing of love and death. The death of the rose, may not necessarily mean the rose (which is a human entity) is dying from some illness, but it could be a death of one’s innocence aka virginity! It’s a different type of death because it’s linked to love, and it’s also violent, both literally and physically. Someone is robbed of who they once were, and their preconceived notion of love. š aw.
Christina Hendricks
November 20, 2016 — 12:27 pm
I am so behind in commenting on blog posts! I’m sorry about that.
The interpretations here make sense to me. If the “worm” were some kind of nonconsensual sex, then it makes sense to say that it would destroy the life of the rose, if the rose is symbolic of a woman who has been raped (it would certainly destroy a part of oneself, leave a scar forever, even if it may not destroy the whole of one’s life).
I’m kind of fixated on the fact that the worm is “invisible” and “flies in the night / In the howling storm.” The reference to the night, and invisibility, goes along with the reference to the worm’s “dark, secret love.” There’s something hidden, not obvious on the surface, that comes and destroys the rose. If we look at it that way, then the worm could be something that creeps up on you and that you can’t really see until it makes you sick. Shivz noted that this could happen with a sexual assault, and that makes sense to me. I wonder if it might also be something that is hidden in love relationships that can poison them. The rose has a bed of “crimson joy,” but within that there is a worm that is poisoning that joy.
I’m thinking another interpretation might be that the rose represents love, and the worm something within that eats away at it, destroying it eventually. I keep coming back to the idea that the worm is jealousy, but I don’t know how that would fit with it having a “dark, secret love.” So I’m not really sure about this possible interpretation.
I’ve also read a few places that Blake was a critic of social and religious attitudes towards romantic love of his day, finding them too repressive and limiting. This leads me to wonder whether the rose is made sick because of some sense that an illicit, secret affair is happening that the society or religion says is not supposed to happen, and this is poisoning the love relationship. That’s pretty speculative on my part, though!